Eight civil court posts up for grabs

Updated 11:59 pm, Sunday, October 28, 2012

For the first time in years, all 12 state district court benches in Bexar County up for election Nov. 6 have drawn candidates from both major parties.

Incumbents are running for all but two benches — both civil — thanks to the retirements of longtime Judges David Berchelmann of the 37th state District Court and Martha Tanner of the 166th.

In both races, Democrats are pitting former misdemeanor court judges touting their judicial experience against Republicans who cite their board certification in family law, which consumes about 70 percent of the docket.

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Mery, who lost his County Court-at-Law No. 12 bench of 11 years during the 2010 primary, said he has been handling civil cases as a visiting judge and mediator for the past two years. He also was a prosecutor and had a private civil practice before taking the bench, he noted.

“I'm very, very qualified for the position,” he said.

In the 166th court race, Republican Stephani Walsh and Democrat Laura Salinas have noted their different types of experience. Walsh has been focusing on civil and family law for 27 years and has handled more than 1,100 cases in Bexar County, she said.

Salinas acknowledges she hasn't been a lawyer as long — 15 years — and has practiced both civil and criminal law. But she also has a proven track record as a judge, she said, referring to the four-year term she served in County Court-at-Law No. 9 until the 2010 Republican sweep ousted a number of Democratic judges.

In all, eight civil court benches are on the ballot. One of the highest-profile races is that of 57th District Judge Toni Arteaga, a Democrat seeking a second term, and Republican challenger Joseph Appelt.

Arteaga's demeanor on the bench has been troubling, and it shows in judicial polls in which lawyers have repeatedly ranked her lowest among all civil court judges, Appelt has asserted.

Among the cases he has cited was a 2009 hearing in which Arteaga told a litigant in a divorce case that she would have thrown his clothes on the lawn and burned them had she been in his wife's shoes. In a state appeals court opinion issued last year regarding another case, Justice Catherine Stone wrote that Arteaga failed “to follow the most basic dictates of our legal system.”

Arteaga acknowledges she has made some mistakes, including the 2009 comment, but said she has learned from them. Unlike Appelt, she has six years of judicial experience that include two as a magistrate judge, she said.

Bar polls can often be skewed, Arteaga added, pointing out that her contributors have included prominent lawyers from both parties. High-profile Houston lawyer Mark Lanier, who tried a monthlong jury trial in her courtroom, recently described Arteaga at a judicial seminar as a “gold medal judge” who managed to be stern and blunt without being improper or rude.

131st District Court, in which Republican Mike Patterson is running against Judge John Gabriel, who has held the bench since 1993. Patterson has been an attorney since 1980. Gabriel has practiced since 1977.

407th District Court, in which Republican Joseph Hoelscher is challenging Judge Karen Pozza, who was elected in 2000. Hoelscher has been an attorney since 2007. Pozza has been an attorney since 1991.

408th District Court, in which Republican Scott Martinez is challenging Judge Larry Noll, a lawyer since 1973 who was a justice of the peace and municipal judge before his election to the bench in 2006. Since then, he has garnered some of the highest ratings among lawyers in judicial polls. Martinez has been an attorney since 2004.

438th District Court, in which Democrat Gloria Saldaña is challenging Judge Victor Negrón, a Perry appointee who has presided over the court since it was created in 2010. Negrón, who obtained his law license in 1978, was previously appointed to the 407th court bench in 2000 but was defeated several months later. Saldaña, who has been practicing since 1991, served one term on the 285th bench before losing her seat during the 2010 Republican sweep.